Multi-faceted gemstone for multi-stone jewelry item

ABSTRACT

A gemstone having a crown which includes a multi-faceted crown surface and planar opposed side facets. The multi-faceted crown surface is arcuate from the front to the back of the crown. The gemstone is mounted to form, along with like gemstones, an article of jewelry having a continuous diamond look.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to gemstones and more particularly to amulti-faceted gemstone particularly suitable for use in a multi-stonejewelry item.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Present day gemstone cuts are well known. These include brilliant,princess, emerald, asscher, marquise, oval, radiant, pear, heart andcushion cuts. While diamonds with these cuts are frequently used assingle stones mounted on pieces of jewelry, such as engagement rings,more difficulty is encountered when these diamonds are mounted in piecesof jewelry where it is desired to provide a continuous diamond look,that is, a look wherein it appears that the jewelry is made from asingle diamond. An example of such a jewelry piece is a wedding ringwhere the stones are placed on the circular periphery of the ring.Nonetheless, when such diamonds are mounted, they fail to provide thedesired continuous look. For example, the joints between adjacentdiamonds are noticeable to the naked eye thus detracting from theaesthetics of the piece of jewelry.

Accordingly, there is the need to provide a new diamond cut that can beused on pieces of jewelry enabling the diamonds to provide a continuousdiamond look.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention is to provide a newdiamond cut that can be mounted on a piece of jewelry to provide acontinuous diamond look.

Another aspect of the present invention to provide a new diamond cutthat can be mounted on a piece of jewelry to provide a continuousdiamond look while at the same time enhancing the aesthetic look of thejewelry piece.

A still further aspect of the present invention is to provide a newdiamond cut that can vary in shape and cut faceting but nonetheless canbe mounted on a piece of jewelry to provide a continuous diamond look.

These and other aspects of the invention are achieved by providing agemstone having a front, a back and a bottom, with the gemstone having alower pavilion and an upper crown. The crown has a top surface and apair of depending opposed planar sides. The top surface of the crown hasa convex shape such that the top surface arcuately runs in a lateraldirection from said front to said back of said gemstone.

These and other aspects of the invention, together with features andadvantages thereof, will become apparent from the following detaileddescription of several preferred embodiments, when taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a top plan view of a gemstone according to one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 1B is a front elevation view thereof;

FIG. 1C is a side elevation view thereof;

FIG. 1D is perspective view thereof;

FIG. 1E is a cross sectional view of the invention taken along line 1-1of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1F is a bottom plan view thereof;

FIG. 2A is a top plan view of a gemstone according to a secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a front elevation view thereof;

FIG. 3A is a top plan view of a gemstone according to a third embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 3B is a front elevation view thereof;

FIG. 4A is a top plan view of a gemstone according to a fourthembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4B is a front elevation view thereof;

FIG. 4C is a side elevation view thereof;

FIG. 4D is perspective view thereof;

FIG. 5A is a top plan view of a gemstone according to a fifth embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 5B is a front elevation view thereof;

FIG. 6A is a top plan view of a gemstone according to a sixth embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 7A is a top plan view of a gemstone according to a seventhembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7B is a cross sectional view of the invention taken along line 7-7of FIG. 7A;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a wedding ring according to the presentinvention showing a gemstone of the present invention being insertedinto the ring mounting and also showing several additional gemstonesalready in place;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view showing a gemstone of the present inventionbeing inserted into the ring mounting;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the wedding ring of FIG. 8 with all thegemstones in place;

FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 11-11 of FIG. 10;and

FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 12-12 of FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring particularly to FIGS. 1A-1E, a gemstone according to thepresent invention is generally designated 10. Gemstone 10 has a front 10a, a back 10 b and a bottom 10 c. Gemstone 10 includes a crown generallydesignated 12 and a pavilion generally designated 14. Advantageously andin contrast to gemstones of the prior art, gemstone 10 does not includea table nor does it include a girdle. Crown 12, which has a front side12 a, a rear side 12 b, a first or right side 12 c, a second or leftside 12 d and a top 12 e, defines multi-faceted crown surface 15 locatedalong top 12 e of crown 12. Multi-faceted crown surface 15 has a convexshape such that crown surface 15 arcuately runs in a lateral directionessentially from the front to the back of gemstone 10. Although crownsurface 15 is arcuate in the lateral direction, it is non-arcuate in thelongitudinal direction of the crown. Multi-faceted crown surface 15 hasa first multi-faceted crown surface portion 16 and a secondmulti-faceted crown surface portion 18, each having a plurality offacets 20. Facets 20 may include rhombus shaped facets 22 and triangularshaped facets 24. Crown 12 also includes pentagonal front and rearfacets 26 (only the front facet being shown) and opposed planar rightand left side facets 28 (only the right side facet being shown), thelatter each having a facet surface or face 28 a and a generally curvedupper edge 28 b. Only at side 27 of side facets 26 is upper edge 28 bnon-curved. Right and left side facets 28 are substantially larger thanfacets 20 located on multi-faceted crown surface 15. These side facetshave a height H3 (measured from apex 28 c of upper edge 28 b to thebeginning of pavilion 14) and a width W3 (in this embodiment, W and W3are the same). Advantageously, H3 is in the range of between 20% to 85%of W since above 85% sufficient light will not refract through thegemstone and below 20% the gemstone will be overpowered by its setting.

Multi-faceted crown surface 15 has front and rear edges 17 a and 17 b,respectively, and right and left side edges 17 c and 17 d. In thisembodiment, front and rear edges 17 a and 17 b are straight and rightand left side edges 17 c and 17 d are curved (see FIG. 1A), the latterbecause the opposed planar side facets 28 are inwardly directed one tothe other as they run from the multi-faceted crown surface 15 towardsthe bottom of the gemstone. First multi-faceted crown surface portion 16and second multi-faceted crown surface portion 18 divide multi-facetedcrown surface 15 into two parts along a boundary line or peak 30 whichbisects the multi-faceted crown surface. Peak 30 arcuately runs in alateral direction along the crown from substantially the front to theback of the gemstone. Peak 30 has an apex 30 a which is located halfwaybetween the front and back of crown 12. As shown in FIG. 1B, firstmulti-faceted crown surface portion 16 slopes downwardly defining afirst crown angle a which advantageously is in the range from 0° to 20°.Likewise, second multi-faceted crown surface portion 18 slopesdownwardly in the opposite direction defining a second crown angle bwhich also may be in the range from 0° to 20°. It has been found that inangles greater than 20° the continuous diamond look is compromised. Inthe embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1B, first crown angle a and secondcrown angle b are equal angles. In other words, the slope of firstmulti-faceted crown portion 16 is the same as the slope of secondmulti-faceted crown portion 18, but the latter is a positive slope andthe former is a negative slope.

As shown in FIG. 1C, FIG. 1D and FIG. 1E, multi-faceted crown surface 15is curved front-to-back, once again because the opposed planar sidefacets 28 are inwardly directed one to the other as they run from themulti-faceted crown surface 15 to pavilion 14, with the curve generallyconforming to the upper edges 28 b of side facets 28. That is, sideedges 17 c and 17 d define generally curved upper edge 28 b of sidefacets 28. Because there is no table, the curve of multi-faceted crownsurface 15 is substantially continuous, that is, crown surface 15 curvessubstantially continuously from front edge 17 a to rear edge 17 b.Advantageously, the height H1 of crown 12 is in the range of between 50%and 85% of the W of gemstone 10 since above 85% sufficient light willnot refract through the gemstone and below 50% the gemstone will beoverpowered by its setting. In this embodiment, upper-most edge 29 ofmulti-facet crown surface 15 has segments that are generally parallel tothe segments of front edge 17 a and rear edge 17 b of multi-facetedcrown surface 15. That is, both upper-most edge 29 and front and rearedges 17 a and 17 b correspond to first crown angle a and second crownangle b, respectively.

As mentioned, gemstone 10 also includes pavilion 14, having a height H2which is advantageously in the range of between 25% and 50% of gemstonewidth W. Above 50% the gemstone will be overpowered by its setting andbelow 25% difficulties are encountered in setting the gemstone. As shownin FIG. 1F, pavilion 14 is also multi-faceted to maximize the internalbrilliance of the gemstone. By way of example, pavilion 14 is formedwith a plurality of straight or parallel facets 32, a plurality oftriangular facets 34, a plurality of curved facets 36 and a plurality oftrapezoidal facets 38. In the preferred embodiment, there are 14straight facets, 2 triangular facets, 4 cured facets and 4 trapezoidalfacets.

FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B illustrate a gemstone 10 according to a secondembodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, first crown angle a andsecond crown angle b are both 0°, that is, multi-faceted crown surface15 (similar or corresponding parts in the various embodiments use thesame reference numerals) is formed with only a single multi-facetedsurface portion 40 having facets 20, such as rhombus-shaped facets 22and triangular shaped facets 24. Because crown angle a is 0° (the slopeof surface portion 40 is zero), and there is no boundary line or peak 30(compare FIG. 1A with FIG. 2A). In other words in front elevation view(FIG. 2B), upper-most edge 29 of multi-faceted crown surface portion 40is a generally horizontal, as is front edge 17 a, with both these edgesparallel one to the other. In this embodiment, the crown also includesfront and rear facets 33 which are relatively narrow and trapezoidal inshape.

In the third embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B,multi-faceted crown surface 15 has two peaks 30 formed by two angledfirst and second multi-faceted crown surface portions 16 and 18 whichare separated by a horizontal multi-faceted crown surface portion 40.Once again, upper-most edge 29 of multi-faceted crown surface portion 15is generally parallel to the front edge 17 a and rear edge 17 b ofmulti-faceted crown surface portion 15, with the front edge 17 a slopedupwardly (a positive slope), horizontal (zero slope) and slopeddownwardly (negative slope), left to right, as viewed in FIG. 3B. Rearedge 17 b is similarly sloped but at the rear of the gemstone. In thisembodiment, crown 12 has front and rear hexagonal crown facets 42 formedof front and rear edges 17 a and 17 b and having a bottom edgescorresponding to a top edge 39 of trapezoidal facet 38 on pavilion 14and having narrow side edges.

FIGS. 4A-4D show a fourth embodiment of the invention. The gemstone alsohas a first crown angle a and a second crown angle b. However in thisembodiment, the right and left side edges 17 c and 17 d of multi-facetedcrown surface 15 are straight and not curved when the gemstone is viewedfrom the top because the opposed side facets 28 are substantiallyvertical as they run from the multi-faceted crown surface 15 to pavilion14. In this embodiment, W3 and W are not the same, with W3 being in therange of 50% to 100% that of W (when W3 is 100% of W, the gemstonebecomes that shown in the first embodiment). Like the first embodiment,multi-faceted crown surface 15 has first multi-faceted crown surfaceportion 16 and second multi-faceted crown surface portion 18, separatedby peak 30. Rear edge 17 b of first multi-faceted crown surface portion16 also defines a third crown angle c and a fourth crown angle d isformed by the front edge 17 c of first multi-faceted crown surfaceportion 16 as is shown in FIG. 4A. Third crown angle c and fourth crownangle d, both of which may be in the range from 0° to 20°, tapergemstone 10 rear-to-front and front-to-rear, respectively, when viewedfrom the top of the gemstone. Likewise, rear edge 17 b of secondmulti-faceted crown surface portion 18 defines a fifth crown angle e andfront edge 17 a of crown surface portion 18 defines a sixth crown anglef, which also taper gemstone 10 rear-to-front and front-to-rear,respectively, when viewed from the top of the gemstone. These angles aremay be in the range from 0° to 20°. In the embodiment of FIG. 4A andFIG. 4B, third crown angle c, fourth crown angle d, fifth crown angle eand sixth crown angle f are all substantially equal angles one to theother. However, because gemstone 10 now includes crown angles d and f,the front of gemstone 10 now includes another boundary line or peak 45.As shown in FIG. 4D, peak 45 extends from peak 30, along front facet 26of crown 12, with peak 45 continuing along trapezoidal facet 38 andtriangular facet 34 of pavilion 14. Peak 45 essentially bisects thesefacets into crown facets 26 a and 26 b, pavilion facets 38 a and 38 band pavilion facets 34 a and 34 b. These facets, along with curvedpavilion facets 36 a (the other curved pavilion facet not being shown inFIG. 4D) are disposed at crown angles d and f, respectively.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, fourth crown angle d and sixthcrown angle f are 0°. However in this embodiment, the straight right andleft side edges 17 c and 17 d of gemstone 10 taper from back-to-front.This is because opposed side facets 28 are inwardly directed one to theother as they run from the rear to the front of gemstone 10. This taperforms seventh crown angle g and eighth crown angle h. These angles arein the range of 45° to 90° (the latter providing a gemstone withouttaper of the right and left gemstone sides).

FIG. 6A illustrates a gemstone 10 according yet another embodiment ofthe invention in which the gemstone is tapered from left to right. Inthis embodiment, right side edge 17 c is shorter than left side edge 17d. In other words, the width W1 of the gemstone on the left side isgreater than the width W2 of the gemstone on the right side. The taperpercentage, W2/W1, may range from 75% to 100%, with the lower percentageindicative of the greatest taper and the highest percentage having notaper.

FIG. 7B, the cross section of gemstone 10 looking along line 7-7 of FIG.7A, shows that the cross section of gemstone 10 may also be varied.Thus, comparing cross sectional view of FIG. 7B with the cross sectionalview of FIG. 1F, the latter is more “peaked” shaped as compared to theformer which is “rounder”.

FIGS. 8-12 show gemstone 10 of the present invention, previouslydescribed with respect to the first embodiment, mounted on a piece ofjewelry such as a wedding ring 44. More specifically, a plurality ofgemstones 10 are mounted side-by-side along the outer periphery 46 of acircular metal band 45. Band 45 includes a series of straight andparallel rails 48 and a plurality of gemstone receiving openings 50sized to receive the gemstones. Gemstone receiving opening 50 includesinwardly directed flanges 52 which cooperate with and fit into notches54 defined along the front and rear of pavilion 14 thereby keeping thegemstone in place. As shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 11, circular band 45includes periphery walls 56. These walls flex outwardly slightlyenabling gemstone 10 to snap fit into place.

Each gemstone 10 is cut such that when the gemstone is inserted into itsgemstone receiving opening 50, the sides of adjacent gemstones abut eachother. More specifically and as shown in part in FIG. 12, facet face 28a of right side facet 28 abuts facet face 28 a of left side facet 28 ofthe adjacent gemstone and facet face 28 a of left side facet 28 abutsfacet face 28 a of right side facet 28 of the other adjacent gemstone.

FIG. 10 shows all of gemstones 10 in place along the outer periphery 46of circular band 45 forming a completed wedding ring 44. It will beappreciated that after setting gemstones 10 into circular band 45, thegemstones give the appearance of one single diamond which forms weddingring 44. In this regard, the joints 58 between adjacent gemstones formedat the upper edges 28 b of abutting side facets 28 are not readablyvisible nor is the outer periphery 46 of circular metal band 45. Thisprovides a pleasing aesthetic appearance for the wedding ring.

Thus, the present invention provides a multi-faceted gemstone having anew diamond cut that can be used on pieces of jewelry enabling thegemstones to provide a continuous diamond look. The diamond cut alsoprovides an enhanced aesthetic look for the jewelry piece. Themulti-faceted gemstone is particularly adapted to abut correspondinglike gemstones so that when the gemstones are mounted on a piece ofjewelry, the joints between adjacent gemstones are not readily visible.

While the present invention has been described with reference to severalpreferred embodiments, the invention should not be so limited. Thus,while gemstones 10 according to the first embodiment have been shown asmounted on the outer periphery 46 of band 45 of wedding ring 44, it willbe appreciated that the present invention is not limited to placement ofthe gemstones on the ring's periphery. The gemstones may be mounted onone or more “sides” of the metal band of the wedding ring. Gemstones 10according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention areparticularly suited for such mounting, since the side or planar facetsof the gemstone are directed inwardly towards one another as they runfrom the back to front of the gemstone and when the gemstones are placednext to and abut each other, they form a “circular” pattern. Thegemstones also may be mounted on a metal band having an outer peripherythat is generally square, rectangular, triangular or polygon in overallshape, instead of the traditional circular shape. Gemstones 10 accordingto the fourth embodiment of the present invention are particularlysuited for mounting in a straight pattern, due to the fact that the sideor planar facets are vertical and/or parallel to each other.

The gemstones may also be mounted to form other pieces of jewelry suchas, by way of example, earrings, pendants, necklaces and bracelets.

Likewise, although the invention has been disclosed using a diamondgemstone, the gemstone need not be diamond. It can be another preciousstone or even a non-precious stone.

The scope of the invention will now be set forth in the followingclaims:

1. A gemstone having a front, a back and a bottom, the gemstonecomprising a lower pavilion and an upper crown, the crown having a topsurface and a pair of depending opposed planar sides, the top surface ofthe crown having a convex shape such that the top surface arcuately runsin a lateral direction from said front to said back of said gemstone. 2.The gemstone of claim 1, wherein said top surface is non-arcuate inconfiguration as it runs in a longitudinal direction along the crownfrom one of said planar sides to the other of said planar sides.
 3. Thegemstone of claim 2, wherein the top surface of the crown is dividedinto a plurality of top surface portions with each pair of adjacent topsurface portions being separated from one another by a linear peak thatarcuately runs in a lateral direction along the crown from said front tosaid back of said gemstone.
 4. The gemstone of claim 3, wherein each topsurface portion is non-arcuate in configuration as it runs in alongitudinal direction along the crown.
 5. The gemstone of claim 4,wherein each top surface portion has a slope in a longitudinal directionalong the crown that is constant.
 6. The gemstone of claim 5, whereinthe slope of at least one of said top surface portions is positive andthe slope of at least one of said other top surface portions isnegative.
 7. The gemstone of claim 6, wherein the slope of one of saidtop surface portions is the same as the slope of at least one of saidother top surface portions.
 8. The gemstone of claim 5, wherein theslope of at least one of said top surface portions is different than theslope of at least one of said other top surface portions.
 9. Thegemstone of claim 6, wherein the top surface of the crown comprises onlytwo top surface portions with said two top surface portions beingseparated from one another by a single linear peak that arcuately runsin a lateral direction along the crown from said front to said back ofsaid crown.
 10. The gemstone of claim 9, wherein said single linear peakhas an apex location therealong substantially halfway between said frontand said back of said crown.
 11. The gemstone of claim 10, wherein saidgemstone has a height defined by the distance between said apex locationalong said linear peak and said bottom.
 12. The gemstone of claim 9,wherein each of said two top surface portions runs away from said singlelinear peak in a downwardly longitudinal direction along the crown. 13.The gemstone of claim 1, wherein said planar sides are disposed in avertically oriented direction as they run from said top surface to saidlower pavilion.
 14. The gemstone of claim 1, wherein said planar sidesare inwardly directed towards one another as they run from said topsurface to said lower pavilion.
 15. The gemstone of claim 1, whereinsaid planar sides are inwardly directed towards one another as they runfrom said back to said front.
 16. An article of jewelry comprising: atleast one gemstone having a front, a back and a bottom, the gemstonecomprising a lower pavilion and an upper crown, the crown having a topsurface and a pair of depending opposed planar sides, the top surface ofthe crown having a convex shape such that the top surface arcuately runsin a lateral direction from said front to said back of said gemstone;and a support for mounting at least one of said gemstones.
 17. Thearticle of jewelry of claim 16, wherein said article includes at leasttwo gemstones, a planar side of one of said gemstones abutting a planarof said other gemstone when the gemstones are mounted on said support.